Last weekend I went a half hour out of my way while driving from my hometown to my college town just to stop at a record store (Shady Dog Records in Berwyn, PA) I had noticed in the paper. They didn't have much metal, but they had good prices on most of it, so I picked up the following vinyls (most sleeves pretty beat up, but the records themselves in fine shape) for $35:
Krokus - Headhunter
Lääz Rockit - City's Gonna Burn
Lääz Rockit - Holiday in Cambodia
Saxon - The Eagle Has Landed
The Church - The Church
The Church - The Blurred Crusade

The problem with a lot of brick-and-mortar record stores, or at least those in my area, is that, for someone with my tastes, they suck. In West Chester, there are two important independent stores. Namely, The Mad Platter and Chester County Book & Music Company.

The Mad Platter skews towards two groups: aging ex-hippies (two of them own and run the store) and the local college/high school kids. This means there's a lot of pop, rock, folk, and reggae recordings from the 1960s and '70s for the ex-hippies and prominent young pothead community, mostly on CD, but also some on vinyl. There's also a lot of currently popular bands in mainstream and "indie" rock with some punk and hip-hop. The only time you'll find metal there is the old stalwarts (Iron Maiden, Motörhead, Metallica, etc.) or the most popular bands on Century Media level metal labels. The staff, being aging former hippies, actively dislike metal and sneer when you buy some and ask if you're "finally growing out of that stuff" if you bring something to sell back (plus their buyback prices are a rip off). They're also condescending pricks and make fun of their customers as soon as they leave. In general a shitty store with shitty selection and shitty staff. For some reason, a lot of people think it's cool and it manages to stay afloat.

Chester County Book & Music Company is much better. They have a larger selection, mostly CD, though vinyl has more of a presence now. They don't necessarily target a specific crowd, as being a bookstore as well, they can expect all sorts of people dropping into the music section. They do have quite a bit of indie rock type stuff for the college and high school students. Oddly, their metal selection has gotten worse over the past year or so, despite metal becoming more popular. Now they only carry the biggest names on the biggest labels for the most part and don't seem to bother stocking older releases that are still in print, except for the big names. I used to shop there quite a bit when I was younger and first getting into metal and mostly wanted the big names as it was. Sometimes, though, there would be something less known, but those "hidden gems" have all but disappeared from the shelves. Most of the time I go there, I either leave disappointed and empty-handed or with something non-metal in mind (and even then they frequently won't have it, such as when I went looking for stuff by Stiff Little Fingers or The Adverts). The staff and buyback is a little better (they're kind of aloof, you get the impression they're still looking down at you even if they don't said it), but nothing special. It's kind of a shame that the store, or at least my perception of it, has declined recently, as my friends and I spent many a weekend night browsing the shelves and hanging out there in high school. Still, I can't feel that bad about it, as nostalgia simply doesn't make up for the fact that the store doesn't satisfy my needs. Even in high school, a lot of what I bought there was special order, which I only did at the time because it was more convenient than using the internet, as I didn't have a debit card. Now that ordering online is easy for me, there's no point in special orders.

There's a reason I was willing to drive all the way to Berwyn just for a record store. I like browsing and the atmosphere of the stores. Shady Dog is pretty cool, despite the lack of metal. The clerk was an older guy and we talked about The Church while I was browsing and buying the records, so that was cool. Though some other guy, who I wasn't sure was an employee or not, jibed "Will that sell?" when the older guy mentioned they might get some Metallica and Sepultura records in soon. Even if one is anti-metal, that's pretty dumb comment. Definitely better than either West Chester store, though.

Last edited by PhantomOTO on Fri May 22, 2009 12:47 pm; edited 1 time in total

Ugh. I've seen him around town, but never doing his lame stunts (though often driving like a moron). When Jackass first came out we sometimes watched just to recognize West Chester landmarks. Some local people think he's great, but a lot of people hate him just because his dumb ass represents the town to most people. Also you hear a lot of stories about him treating people like shit at restaurants and stuff.

Ugh. I've seen him around town, but never doing his lame stunts (though often driving like a moron). When Jackass first came out we sometimes watched just to recognize West Chester landmarks. Some local people think he's great, but a lot of people hate him just because his dumb ass represents the town to most people. Also you hear a lot of stories about him treating people like shit at restaurants and stuff.

I would shoot that moron with a potato gun if I could...

What's so crazy about pulling stunts when you have enough money to fix everything afterwards?

Fucking idiot..._________________

Weltbrand wrote:

I actually had Emperor in mind for some reason, but yeah the same logic would apply to a shredded goat man with his dick flapping in the wind.

Its almost a week since. It was last saturday on neseblod. Non-rare stuff they have are normally priced, so I scored Blasphemy made flesh/non so vile 2LP. I often go there to trade aswell. But that is the only real store I visit somewhat regularly.

I was in Chicago for the holidays last year and bought a few things at Metal Haven.
It was the first and only time I have ever been to a decent metal shop, and I think the only time I have ever scored any metal records through non mailorder means.
Ridiculous.

I've heard bad things about that place, like how nothing is priced and they basically give you prices based on your perceived level of excitement._________________THINGS THAT WILL BE DELETED:
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Couple of days ago. I've started to visit record shops again after a long period of internet purchases. I know a guy that has a record shop so I'm hanging around there besides just shopping. Kind of missed that shit, nothing can beat a long vinyl hunting stroll and a listening session full of bestiality and weed _________________Good sellers/traders & Trade/sell/want list

nothing can beat a long vinyl hunting stroll and a listening session full of bestiality and weed

Careful Kostas, the use of this term can be understood to mean fucking animals. ha ha ha_________________THINGS THAT WILL BE DELETED:
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